The Silicon Review

China makes face scans mandatory for every phone users

The Silicon Review02 December, 2019

China is all set to make face scans a mandatory rule for every mobile user, and now it has ordered the telecom operators to collect face scans when registering new phone users at offline outlets. According to the country’s information technology authority, Beijing is still facing cybersecurity issues. In order to prevent this China is bringing in face scan rule.

The notice said telecom operators should use "artificial intelligence and other technical means" to verify people's identities when they take a new phone number. China’s Unicom service said that portrait matching requirement means customers registering for a new phone number may have to record themselves turning their head and blinking

“In next steps, our ministry will continue to increase supervision and inspection and strictly promote the management of real-name registration for phone users,Oversight of social media has ramped up in recent years as part of the Chinese government's push to "promote the healthy, orderly development of the Internet, protect state security and public interest," said the Chinese Government.

Meanwhile, the researchers have warned that there will be privacy risks associated with gathering facial recognition data. This move by the China government to leverage AI comes as facial recognition technology gains traction across China where the tech is used for everything from supermarket checkouts to surveillance.